Where the arms go

Organizations form coalition to pressure Brazil to ratify treaty regulating the international weapons market

Do you know where the arms go that are manufactured in Brazil? Despite being the world’s fourth largest exporter of small arms, selling nearly US$3 billion between 2001 and 2012, Brazil has one of the most secretive weapons exporting processes on the planet, coming in 43rd place in a ranking of 55 countries.

Do you know where the arms go that are manufactured in Brazil? Despite being the world’s fourth largest exporter of small arms, selling nearly US$3 billion between 2001 and 2012, Brazil has one of the most secretive weapons exporting processes on the planet, coming in 43rd place in a ranking of 55 countries.

As a result of this, a group of organizations formed by Amnesty International, Conectas, Dhesarme, Igarapé and Sou da Paz launched this Tuesday, May 3, the Coalition for the Responsible Export of Arms together with a petition to pressure Congress to ratify the ATT (Arms Trade Treaty) – the first global agreement to regulate international trade in conventional weapons, a category that includes everything from pistols to tanks.

Sign and share the petition: www.paraondevaoasarmas.org.br

The treaty will serve to prevent Brazilian arms and munitions from being used by genocidal governments or supplying terrorism in other countries, and it will also reduce the availability of illegal weapons that fuel urban violence in our country – since many of them are smuggled back to our borders.

The text will be analyzed by the Public Security Commission and the Constitution and Justice Commission of the Lower House of Congress before being voted in a full session of the house. Once approved by members of Congress, it will proceed to the Senate before returning to the Executive.

Pnemem

Brazil’s lack of transparency in its international arms sales is primarily the result of a secretive policy known as Pnemem (National Export Policy for Military Equipment). Created during the military dictatorship, Pnemem has been applied and updated away from the public eye since 1974.

Brazilian weapons have been found in Ivory Coast, in Africa, in spite of the arms embargo that restricted the sale of these materials to the country. There are also signs of Brazilian arms being used in Yemen, in the Middle East, where at least 3,000 civilians have been killed since March 2015, according to data from the UN.

The Brazilian government has already indicated that it supports the change of policy for the international trade of arms. Indeed, Brazil was one of the first countries to sign the treaty, in June 2013. However, successive delays in the ratification process have prevented the country from participating in the international forums to discuss the guidelines for this global trade.

Help prevent Brazilian weapons from being exported to countries and armed groups that commit serious human rights violations. Pressure Brazilian Congress to ratify the ATT. Sign and share the petition here.

>> Read more: Three reasons why Brazil should ratify the ATT.